{"id":3732,"date":"2013-06-05T10:05:20","date_gmt":"2013-06-05T15:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=3732"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:51:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:51:26","slug":"motherhood-and-not-so-simple-simplicity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2013\/06\/05\/motherhood-and-not-so-simple-simplicity\/","title":{"rendered":"Motherhood and Not-So-Simple Simplicity"},"content":{"rendered":"

By guest blogger \u00a0Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/p>\n

I always used to find it challenging to live out the value of simplicity in a contemporary Western context.\u00a0 Now, as a mom, I find it nearly impossible.<\/p>\n

I am blessed to be the mother of a twenty-month-old daughter and another little girl due in two months.\u00a0 I desperately want them to grow up in a home that honors and reflects the values of Jesus — values which I believe are oftentimes in direct conflict with the images of traditional domestic success in this country.\u00a0 And yet, as a mom who is entirely in love with and predictably devoted to her children, I struggle to disregard the pressures and compulsions of the mommy\/baby industry.\u00a0I want to live simply, but I also want to provide my daughters with \u201cthe best\u2026\u201d (insert noun here: nutrition, cognitive development-enhancing toys, opportunities in life, etc.).<\/p>\n

From the moment I found out that I was pregnant with my first daughter, I was overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of stuff<\/i>\u00a0associated with having a baby.\u00a0 Merely setting foot in Babies\u201cR\u201dUs made my head spin: playpens, bouncers, bottles, strollers, electric swings, toys, books, CDs, DVDs \u2013how much of this stuff did my baby actually need<\/i>?\u00a0 Having lived among babies in Africa and Latin America, my assumption was \u201cnot much.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy of MorgueFile<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For the first few months of my daughter\u2019s life, my husband and I were immensely proud of the fact that we didn\u2019t own a crib.\u00a0 Initially, we made use of a thrift store bassinet, and when our baby outgrew that, we simply put her on blankets on the floor.\u00a0 \u201cSee,\u201d we thought with satisfaction, \u201cpeople who fill their homes with baby stuff just aren\u2019t trying hard enough<\/i> to live simply.\u201d\u00a0 But then she started rolling.\u00a0 Virtually overnight, I went from spurning the entire concept of a crib to declining a free crib because it didn\u2019t adhere to current safety regulations (even though I knew four children had happily slept in it throughout infancy).\u00a0 I wonder: would Jesus consider that to be conscientious parenting or lamentable wastefulness?\u00a0 I may feel a sense of righteous indignation at the ways in which our consumerist culture preys upon a mother\u2019s desire to provide the best for her children, but I can hardly deny that we are easy prey!<\/p>\n

Even without being goaded by marketers, my own weaknesses cause me to fall short of the ideals of \u201cSimple Living.\u201d\u00a0 Before my daughter\u2019s birth, I was delighted to receive a homemade diaper wipe kit — a kit I only ended up using once.\u00a0 When she began eating solids, I planned to prepare all of her baby food from fresh ingredients — but laziness, in the form of many store-bought jars of pureed\u00a0concoctions, prevailed.\u00a0 And, most scandalously, I confess that I never did figure out cloth diapering.\u00a0 Our monthly delivery of disposable diapers (\u201cenvironmentally-friendly\u201d though they may be) always triggers a fair amount of hand-wringing guilt in me.<\/p>\n

As my daughter grows older and we anticipate the birth of our second child, the issues surrounding Simple Living and parenthood grow ever more complex.\u00a0 My husband and I frequently remind ourselves that we want to live our lives and raise our children in a way that would only make sense in light of the Gospel.\u00a0 But what does that mean?\u00a0 Given our limited finances, how do we balance our commitment to charitable giving with our commitment to our children?\u00a0 Right now, those questions arise when we consider whether or not to spend extra money on organic food or a better stroller, but I know that tougher decisions loom ahead.\u00a0 Do we pay for music lessons?\u00a0 Do we enroll our kids in private school?\u00a0 Do we travel abroad with them?\u00a0 For me, it all boils down to a basic conundrum:\u00a0 How much is justifiable in the name of providing for our children, especially when one of the things we\u2019re trying to provide is the value of Simple Living?<\/i><\/p>\n

If you know the answer to that question, please tell me!\u00a0 I suspect, though, that this is one of those opaque moral areas requiring perpetual personal discernment.\u00a0I\u2019ve discovered that the terrain of parenting changes abruptly and dramatically with each new stage of my daughter\u2019s development.\u00a0 I must constantly re-adjust the lens through which I view my vocation as a mom in order to stay focused on what is most essential to me: giving glory to God through this gift of motherhood.<\/p>\n

Daily, in matters both trivial and profound, I fail to do so.\u00a0 But I take comfort in the words of Scripture: \u201cFor we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are\u2014yet he did not sin.\u00a0 Let us then approach God\u2019s throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.\u201d (Hebrews 4:15-16)<\/p>\n

\u201cApproach God\u2019s throne of grace with boldness.\u201d\u00a0 I take this message to heart.\u00a0 A certain sense of boldness is necessary for me to approach the Eucharistic table each week, laden as I am with a disposable-diaper-clad toddler and the weight of so many daily failures!\u00a0 Yet the God of mercy and grace invites me to come and be nourished… and so I do, confident that the only way I will ever achieve authentic simplicity is with and in the One who simply loves.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s guest blogger, Nicole Steele Wooldridge, has been a friend of Sister Julia\u2019s since they were neighbors (in body and spirit) in Chicago, Ill.\u00a0 She now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, daughter, and very pregnant\u00a0belly.\u00a0 She spends her days chasing a toddler, working at a community college, and struggling to live out this thing called discipleship.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By guest blogger \u00a0Nicole Steele Wooldridge I always used to find it challenging to live out the value of simplicity in a contemporary Western context.\u00a0 Now, as a mom, I find it nearly impossible. I am blessed to be the mother of a twenty-month-old daughter and another little girl due in two months.\u00a0 I desperately...","protected":false},"author":51099403,"featured_media":3739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[698755598,115341,698755604],"tags":[214,102644,401,4089,66794,10396561,5309,178304,17266],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-3732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-family-life","category-equity-and-justice-equity-and-justice","category-simple-living","tag-christianity","tag-discernment","tag-faith","tag-motherhood","tag-new-babies","tag-nursery-supplies","tag-parenting","tag-simple-living","tag-simplicity","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/file1311297121136.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"

Motherhood and Not-So-Simple Simplicity<\/a><\/blockquote>